Ornamental fountains of aerated globules



anales Fatented l2, i953 .lohn Hruhy, r., assignments, to il il poration of California This invention relates to improvements in devices for producing ornamental water fountains.

The fountains of this invention are characterized as comprising a narrow inverted cone of relatively large and discrete aeratcd globules of water. The globules, with entrained air, are whitish or translucent rather than being clear, whereby the fountains have an appearance of subsistence. Some of the globules appear to burst as they shoot up in the fountain while the greater number of thern appear to burst at or near the top ot" the fountain and produce `dropping traces of water around the cone of upwardly shooting globules. The bursting appearance of the globules along with their massiveness as they shoot -up provide an ornamental water fountain or" lively and spirited adects.

rille fountain devices of this invention have structural and functional features which are similar in certain aspects thereof to the fountain devices of US. Patent No. 3,039,028. As is the case for the instant invention, the fountain devices of said patent are characterized by a tubular stem which is caused to gyrate around in a tubular body with the axis of the stern being inclined with respect to the axis of the body and with the stern tracing a geometric surface known as hyperboloid oi one sheet. Such gyration of tue tubular stem is effected by rotation of water in the body, the rotating water being hereinafter referred to as driving water to distinguish the same from that which passes upwardly through the stem.

The devices or" the instant invention utilize the driving water to break up the solid stream of water from the stern. More particularly, the upper end of the stein is disposed within a tubular extension of the body such that as the stream of water from the stem is broken up by the rotatinfy upwardly moving driving water, air within the extension becomes entra-ined in the water being jetted up from the device with the result of producing relatively large and discrete aerated globules.

in the following part of this specilication, the details of construction and mode or" operation of a preferred embodiment of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. l is a view in elevation of a fountain device of this invention and of a `water fountain produced by the device;

FiG. 2 is a side elevation of the fountain device, on a larger scale, and positioned in a water supply pipe which is shown in vertical section;

FIG. 3 is a central vertical section on a still larger scale through the device; and,

FlG. 4 is a cross-section through the device talten upon a plane indicated by line @.-i on FGURE 3.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail, a preferred form of the fountain devices of this invention is illustrated, the same being designated `generally by reference numeral lil. It receives water from a riser pipe ll upon which it is mounted. The device it? produces a fountain of water having a narrow inverted cone i3 of rising aerated globules lliof water, and dropping traces of water drops l5' around the cone 13. The water from the fountain falls upon the surface or" water l? contained in a basin or other receptace, not shown.

Fountain device lil comprises a hollow body 19 which in the case of the illustrated embodiment is formed of two axially aligned tubular sections, the upper section being designated by relier-ence numeral 2d and the lower section by numeral 2l. The sections are interconnected as by force-fitting the upper end of the lower section 2f; telescopically in an inside annular rabbet 23 in the lower end of the upper section. The body l0 is adapted to be secured atop the riser pipe ll with a nut 24 providing a screw-thread connection at 25 with the pipe and at 2o with the lower end of the upper section 2i?. A hexagonal collar 27 at the outside of the body permits easy turning of the body into the nut for screwthreaded securement. The upper section 2@ extends above the riser pipe `and the lower section 2l extends into the pipe, the lower section 21 being of smaller outside diameter than the inside of the pipe to provide an annular space 23 around the 4lower section.

Numerals 3h and 3l designate the inside cylindrical surfaces, respectively, of the upper and lower sections and 2r, the diameters thereof, for the illustrated embodiment, being of the same size. The inside bore or chamber of the upper section 2i?, as dened by the cylindrical surface Btl is designated by reference numeral 32 and that of the lov/er section by reference 33. The upper edge of the upper section `denn-es a lluid discharge opening of the body from which the fountain .t3-ILS rises. There is an annular bearing 37 on the inside of the body positioned intermediate the upper and lower ends of the body, such bearing, in the illustrated embodiinent, being force-fitted -in the upper end portion of the tube lconstituting the lower section 2l. Annular bearing 57 defines a restricted passage 3d extending axially therethrough. Another annular bearing 39 is yforce-titted in the lower end of lower section 2l, and it has an ope d@ which is axially aligned but smaller in diarneter than the restricted passage of the upper bearing 37. The bearings 37 and 3@ are shown as being formed of laminated phenolic composition.

Formed in the tubular lower section 21 is a plurality of openings l2 for admitting water into the cavity 33 of the lower section Ztl. ln the illustrated embodiment, these are formed as narrow slits which extend longitudinally' of the body There are four such slits for the device they being uniformly spaced apart in a cir-cuinferentially arranged series around the body. As best appears in FlGURB 4 the slits 42 extend through the wall of the lower sect-ion 2l at an anale with respect to the radii of cavity 33, thereby to .cause water in the body cavity to spiral around and upwardly through the restricted passage 38, thence through the upper section Ztl, and out through the discharge opening 35.

Arrange longitudinally in the body 19 is an openended tubular stern extending through upper and lower lbearinfrs 37 and 39. Numeral l5 designates the axially extending passage or bore of the stern which is open at its lower end as inlet opening do for reception t' water from the riser li and at its upper end `47 for discharge of water into the upper chamber 32. The stein is substantially smaller in outside diameter than the lrestricted passage 38. The opening il of the lower annular bushing 39 is only slightly larger in diameter than the stern, enough so that it will accommodate sutilcient inclination of the stem with respect to the axis of the body l@ to permit engagement or" the stem with the inside surface of the up er bearing 37 which deines its restricted passage 38.

Stop means are provided for maintaining the stern positioned in the body with the upper end of the stern being spaced below the discharge opening 3:5' and above the upper bearing E57. Such stop means in the illustrated embodiment comprises a `collar Se on the lower end of the stern which through engagement with the lower bearing 39 prevents the stem lfrom being driven upwardly out Ifrom the body, and an upper collar 5;?, which through engagement with the lower bearing 39 pre-vents the stein from dropping down from within the body.

As thus far described, and except for the extension of the upper section 2t? above the upper end of the Vstern 44 and the fact that the stem lllhas no enlarged head and its outlet end opening is or" the same size as its bore 3l-5, the illustrated fountain device is similar to that illustrated and described in US. Patent No. 3,030,928. A review of the explanation of the mode of operation ot the fountains of said patent will mal'e it clear that for the fountain device of the instant invention, the swirl or" water around and upwardly in the y 33, because of the slant of water irdet openings 42, will cause the stern to gyrate around in the body with the axis or" the stem being inclined with respect to the axis of the body. In being so gyrated, the stem traces a hyperboloid oi one sheet, the construction of such geometric surface being at the pivot part of the stem, i.e. that part disposed within the lower bearing 39, the upper and lower ends of the stem tracing circles of larger diameter than the pivotal part of the stern. Though of no consequence in the instant invention, the stem ifi also rotates on its longitudinal axis due to rolling or" :the stern along the inside surfaces of the upper and lower bearings.

The driving water, admitted through the slant slits 42, flows upwardly through the restricted passage 38 around the stem and out through the lluid discharge opening 35'. Such driving water is restrained from diverging radially outward in the upper section 2h because the upper cylindrical cavity 32 is oi the same cross-sectional area as the lower cylindrical cavity 33. It is to be noted further that the sum total of the slit opening 42 is greater than the size of lthe restricted passage less the cross-sectional size of the stem dit, whereby the lower cavity is maintained full of water and the ilow rate of water per unit volume in upper chamber 32 is substantially equal to that in lower chamber 33. The driving water impinges obliquely against the stream of water from the upper end of the stem whereby such driving water breaks up the stem water. The upper chamber 32 and its discharge open-ing being large enough, with respect to the rate of water flowing through them, to admit a constant supply of air, the interjection of driving water against the stern water causes not only break-up of water in upper chamber 3.?, but also entrainment of air. Gyration of the stem, as described above, results in the main part of the stream from discharge opening 35' to 'fol-low a narrow inverted cone. The combined effects of these actions produces a water fountain of the large aerated globules 14.

While the instant invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is, therefore, to be accorded the `full scope of the claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

l. A device for producing a water fountain comprising a tubular body having an upper section and a lower section with the upper end of the upper section being a fluid :discharge opening from which the fountain rises, means for securing the body to a water supply pipe with said lower section extending into the pipe, and an annular bearing on the inside of the body spaced from the body ends and having a restricted passa-ge extending centrally therethrough, the lower section having an inlet opening between said bearing and the lower end of the body for admitting water from said pipe, an openended tubular stem extending longitudinally in the body s and through said passage, stop means operatively associated with the stem and the body for maintaining the stem positioned in the body with the upper end of the stem being spaced below said discharge opening and above said bearing, the stern being gyratable around in the body with the axis of the stem being inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the body and the stern tracing a hyperboloid of one sheet whereby air within the upper section becomes entrained -in water discharged from said stern to produce relatively large aerated globules or" water in the fountain.

2. A device for producing a water fountain comprising a tubular body having an upper section and a lower section with the upper end of the upper section being a fluid discharge opening from which the fountain rises, means for securing the body to a water supply pipe with said lower section extending into the pipe, and an annular bearing on the inside of the lower section having an opening concentric with the inside of the lower section, the lower section having an inlet opening above said bearing for admitting water from said pipe, an openended tubular stem extending longitudinally in the body and ough said bearing opening, the outside diameter of the upper end portion of the stem being appreciably smaller than the inside of the upper section and the discharge opening, stop means operatively associated with the stem and the body for maintaining the stem against being driven upwardly through said discharge opening and against `dropping through said bearing opening, the upper end of the stem being spaced below said `discharge opening and above said inlet opening, said inlet opening being inclined with respect to radii of the lower section for imparting rotary motion to water in the body thereby to gyrate the stem around in the body with the upper end of the stem describing a closed path around within the inside of the body and larger than said bearing opening with die result that air within the upper section becomes entrained in water discharged from the stem to produce relatively large aerated globules of water generaily axially in the fountain.

3. A device for producing a -water fountain comprising a tubular body having an upper section and a lower section with the upper end of the upper section being a fluid discharge opening from which the fountain rises, means yfor securing the body atop a water supply pipe with lthe lower section extending into the pipe and spaced from the inside surface of the pipe, an upper annular bearing on the inside of the body spaced from the body ends and having a restricted passage extending centrally therethrough, and a lower annular bearing on the inside of the lower section spaced below the upper bearing and having an opening axially aligned with and smaller in diameter than said restricted passage, the lower section having an inlet opening between saidV bearings for admitting water from said pipe, an open-ended tubular stern extending longitudinally in the body through said upper and lower bearings, the outside diameter of the stem being appreciably smaller than each of said -restricted passage and said discharge opening, stop means on the stem engageable with the ibody for maintaining the stem against being driven upwardly through said discharge opening and against dropping through the lower bearing, the upper end of the stem being smaller than said restricted passage and being spaced below said discharge opening and above the upper bearing, said inlet opening being inclined with respect to radii of the lower section for imparting rota-ry motion to water in the body thereby to gi rate the stern around in the body with the upper end of the stein describing a circle concentric with the inside of the body and larger than the opening of the lower bearing with the result that air within the upper section becomes entrained in water discharged from said stern to produce on account of said gyration of the stern relatively large aerated globules of `water generally axially in the fountain.

5 6 4. A device according to claim 3 in which the cross- References Cited n the le of this patent Sectional sizes of the inside of the upper section and that a of the discharge opening are substantially equal to that UNITED UTATES PATENTS of the inside of the lower section. 5. A device according to claim 3 in which said inlet 5 gardson "MIME/1g opening is one of `a oircumferentially arranged series y ay of longitudinally extending inlet slits, and the vsum total p' g of the slit openings being greater than the size of the 3030978 Hruby AVP '171962 restricted passage less the cross-section of the stem. y pr' 

1. A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING A WATER FOUNTAIN COMPRISING A TUBULAR BODY HAVING AN UPPER SECTION AND A LOWER SECTION WITH THE UPPER END OF THE UPPER SECTION BEING A FLUID DISCHARGE OPENING FROM WHICH THE FOUNTAIN RISES, MEANS FOR SECURING THE BODY TO A WATER SUPPLY PIPE WITH SAID LOWER SECTION EXTENDING INTO THE PIPE, AND AN ANNULAR BEARING ON THE INSIDE OF THE BODY SPACED FROM THE BODY ENDS AND HAVING A RESTRICTED PASSAGE EXTENDING CENTRALLY THERETHROUGH, THE LOWER SECTION HAVING AN INLET OPENING BETWEEN SAID BEARING AND THE LOWER END OF THE BODY FOR ADMITTING WATER FROM SAID PIPE, AN OPENENDED TUBULAR STEM EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY IN THE BODY AND THROUGH SAID PASSAGE, STOP MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE STEM AND THE BODY FOR MAINTAINING THE STEM POSITIONED IN THE BODY WITH THE UPPER END OF THE STEM BEING SPACED BELOW SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND ABOVE SAID BEARING, THE STEM BEING GYRATABLE AROUND IN THE BODY WITH THE AXIS OF THE STEM BEING INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO THE VERTICAL AXIS OF THE BODY AND THE STEM TRACING A HYPERBOLOID OF ONE SHEET WHEREBY AIR WITHIN THE UPPER SECTION BECOMES ENTRAINED IN WATER DISCHARGED FROM SAID STEM TO PRODUCE RELATIVELY LARGE AERATED GLOBULES OF WATER IN THE FOUNTAIN. 